Corellis Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

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Interior

**** (4 stars)

This hidden away gem of an Italian restaurant serves excellent food, and has some of the best wine prices you’ll find in Central Florida. The wine offerings are top notch, with a lot of hard to find labels, and an emphasis on top-rated reds. The owner obviously has a passion for it.

During a special event we were seated in the wine shop, and it was actually nicer than the main dining room. Plus, there was an excellent jazz saxophonist.

Highly recommended.

Corellis Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria
1042-1044 E Hwy 50
Clermont, FL
34711
(352) 989-5924
https://www.yelp.com/biz/corellis-italian-restaurant-and-pizzeria-clermont-2

Wendy’s

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Bacon Maple Chicken

* (1.5 stars)

I’m not a fast food guy, but for various reasons I’ve been here twice, and think it should be higher rated. The staff is friendly and works hard, and the food is fine.

I tried the new Maple bacon croissant sandwich with the spicy chicken, and it was good. Maybe a bit pricey for what it was, but I enjoyed it.

Wendy’s
2751 Wilshire Dr
Orlando, FL
32835
(407) 292-2039
https://www.yelp.com/biz/wendys-orlando-16

Selam Ethiopian & Eritrean Cuisine

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Coffee service

Veggie platter

***** (5 stars)

I love Ethiopian food, and Selam has some of the best I encountered anywhere.  It’s great that Orlando now has an Ethiopian restaurant that is open at lunch time!

Our group of four shared two of the sampler platters, one vegetarian and one not. I was the only one in the group who was familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, so it was wonderful that both the server (owner?) and chef visited us with explanations of everything. Our group loved every bite!

We also finished with the coffee service. They roasted the beans to order, and brought them out in the hot pan so we could smell the wonderful aromas before they ground them.

Really a delightful experience, and we will be back soon!

Selam Ethiopian & Eritrean Cuisine
5494 Central Florida Pkwy
Orlando, FL
32821
(407) 778-3119
https://www.yelp.com/biz/selam-ethiopian-and-eritrean-cuisine-orlando

Michael Mina Pub 1842

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Bacon Cheeseburger

Salmon dip

Beer flight

Exterior

Interior

*** (3.5 stars)

This is a nice sports bar at the rear of the MGM Grand. There are lots of large screens so it’s a great place to watch a game.

The beer flights give you lots of flexibility to sample four of your choice, and there is an interesting menu, with excellent burger options. We also really like the salmon dip appetizer which was plenty for several people to share. Service was quick.

Michael Mina Pub 1842
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
89109
(702) 891-3922
https://www.yelp.com/biz/michael-mina-pub-1842-las-vegas

Eiffel Tower

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Frozen soufflé

Ocean seafood salad

Cream of onion soup

Torchon

View

Interior

**** (4 stars)

I was expecting this place to be very touristy, so I’m shocked to come away feeling it is one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas. In fact, I enjoyed it more that Jules Verne in the real Eiffel Tower!

The room is beautiful, and the view of the Strip and the Bellagio fountain can’t be beat. The atmosphere is sophisticated without being stuck up.

The lunch menu offers a nice assortment of French-inspired cuisine focusing on the lighter side. I loved the torchon appetizer and my Ocean Seafood Salad (btw, what other kind of seafood is there?)

The frozen souffle was an interesting dessert. Try ordering a glass of Amaro and pouring into the ice cream at the bottom–delicious!

The wine list is decent, and the prices normal for the Strip.

This is one of the few Vegas restaurants I think is worth a return visit, because it is about more than just the novelty of the experience.

Eiffel Tower
3655 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
89109
(702) 948-6937
https://www.yelp.com/biz/eiffel-tower-las-vegas

Lotus of Siam

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Dining room

Bar

**** (4.5 stars)

As the awards attest, Lotus of Siam serves some of the best Thai food in the country. This new location is a gorgeous building, and allows them to serve many more people.

As is often the case, with the growth come issues. We’ve always had amazing service at the old location. To describe the service at this new location as disjointed would be giving it too much credit. The fundamental problem is that you don’t have a server. Instead, a whole team of people randomly drops by; two people took our orders, two others took orders for wine, the food was delivered by runners, water refilled by others, and wine… well, the wine was another matter all together.

Lotus of Siam has a great wine list. I didn’t see anyone else in the vast space having a bottle, so it may simply be they’ve forgotten how to serve it. We ordered two bottles and forty minutes later(!) finally were advised they were out of both. We ordered an alternate for one of them, and accepted a recommendation for the other. fifteen minutes later the recommendation finally showed up. The other bottle? Missing in action. We finally gave up and cancelled it after all the food had been served.

And the one bottle we did get ended up being self-serve. We had to get up and get it from the ice bucket every time we needed a refill.

I guess next time we’ll order cocktails.

Lotus of Siam
620 E Flamingo Rd
Las Vegas, NV
89119
(702) 538-6135
https://www.yelp.com/biz/lotus-of-siam-las-vegas-13

Petrossian Bar

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Caviar sampler

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is a delightful piano bar just off the Bellagio lobby, and next to the casino. Despite its location, it is neither noisy nor smoky.

Many creative cocktails are one offer. One of the most interesting items is the caviar sampler, which includes a taste of three grades of caviar, and a glass of Champagne. I suggest ordering it with the creme fraiche on the side, though, as the way it’s served it’s almost impossible to keep it from getting mixed into the caviar, which makes them all taste the same.

Petrossian Bar
3600 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
89109
(702) 693-7111
https://www.yelp.com/biz/petrossian-bar-las-vegas

The Henry

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Breakfast burrito

Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is a good place for 24 hour comfort food. Even though it’s right off the casino floor, it’s not smoky and not noisy.

The portions are large. The tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich was listed under “snacks” but my companion could only finish half of it! I had the breakfast burrito (substituting bacon for chorizo) and couldn’t finish it, either. Both were quite good.

Service is good, and our server was vigilant about keeping the coffee cups–which are the size of salad bowls–topped off.

The Henry
3708 Las Vegas Blvd SLevel 1, The Boulevard Tower
Las Vegas, NV
89109
(702) 698-7980
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-henry-las-vegas

é by José Andrés

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Cream Catalana custard

Fluke

Caviar

Freezing sangria

Four gras

Cheeses

Spanish pizza

Preparation of cava sangria dew drops

Interior

**** (4.5 stars)

This is one of the more unique dining experiences in Las Vegas, with only nine seats at a counter in an intimate room. The experience is as much or more about the presentation as the actual food. Twenty or so courses are meticulously assembled in front of you. And unlike, say, l’Atelier, where there is a server between you and the chefs, here the chefs do that interaction as they work. It requires great talent and personality to fill that role.

Several levels of wine pairing are available here, and the wines are masterfully chosen to match the food. While it is expensive, I must say that the highest level wine pairing offered the best wines Ive encountered on a paring menu, with selections such as Unico and Chateau d’Yquem.

While none of the courses contained that home run of flavors that would stick with me in memory, I think the experience is well worth it, because of its unique intimacy.

é by José Andrés
3708 Las Vegas Blvd SLevel 2, Boulevard Tower
Las Vegas, NV
89109
(702) 698-7950
https://www.yelp.com/biz/%C3%A9-by-jos%C3%A9-andr%C3%A9s-las-vegas-4

Michael’s Gourmet Room

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Exterior

Interior

Scampi fra Diavolo

Mixed green salad

Petite filet mignon

Bone in filet mignon

Bananas Foster for one

Fruit and chocolates parting gifts

**** (4.5 stars)

If you are over a certain age, you will remember what fine dining restaurants used to be like, before they were, bright, loud and trendy. Visiting Michael’s is like stepping back into that era. The decor and the menu are exactly what we would have encountered in the 60s or 70s at the finest places in town. Well, except for the prices, anyway.

That said, while the menu prices might seem high, it’s important to note that there is a LOT included that isn’t on the menu. You start a basket of parmesan toast, a basket of lavash, and a generous relish tray with everything from pickled vegetables to quail eggs. And the meal ends with an enormous fruit bowl and an array of hand-dipped chocolate fruit slices. Of course, no one can eat all that, so you end up with a five pound to-go bag–snacks for a week.

In between all that free stuff are some great starters and steaks. Mixed green salad was simple, fresh, and enough for two. Scampi fra Diavolo had perhaps the best marinara sauce I’ve tasted (although it wasn’t spicy at all).

My bone-in filet was a superb piece of meat, and came with a lovely mushroom and red wine reduction. My companion’s petit filet seemed a bit mealy and flavorless in comparison, but the accompanying Bernaise sauces was wonderful.

For dessert we shared Bananas Foster for one (not on the menu, but nice of them to suggest the smaller serving). There was also a very tempting array of pastries on the cart.

I would have finished with an espresso, but at $16 that just seemed over the top, price wise.

The wines list focuses on many well-chosen California selections at reasonable prices.

Service was friendly, but also offered with the high degree of professionalism one would expect in a restaurant that so perfectly recreates the golden age of fine dining.

Michael’s Gourmet Room
9777 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
89183
(702) 796-7111
https://www.yelp.com/biz/michaels-gourmet-room-las-vegas